DAMASCUS, 22 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - In 2001, then Member of Parliament Riad Seif accused the regime of corruption after a lucrative mobile-phone contract was awarded to a cousin of President Bashar al-Assad. The MP's accusation represented the high-water mark of the so-called “Damascus Spring”, the brief thaw in Syrian political life that followed al-Assad's assumption of power.Full report

DUBAI, 19 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - CONTENTS: EGYPT: Ship disaster compensation inadequate, say...Full report

BEIRUT, 16 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - Lebanese leaders agreed earlier this week to disarm Palestinian factions outside the country’s refugee camps and establish diplomatic ties with Syria in the first national dialogue held by all the country’s political factions since 1990.Full report

DAMASCUS, 16 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - The Syrian government welcomed an initial report by UN investigator Serge Brammertz, which found that Damascus had cooperated over the last three months with the inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.Full report

CAIRO, 15 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - Arab journalists and activists called for greater freedoms of press and expression at a regional conference on Monday held at the Egyptian Journalists’ Syndicate in the capital, Cairo.Full report

SANA, 15 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - A second woman confirmed on Monday that she will run for the country's highest political office in elections scheduled to be held in September.Full report

CAIRO, 12 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - Activists condemned the recent sentencing of newspaper journalist Amira Malash to one year in prison for libel, citing earlier government promises that prison sentences for press-related offences would be abolished.Full report

BAGHDAD, 9 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - The Arab League will open its office in Iraq in coming weeks, with a focus on reconciliation of political divisions, as violence continues heightening the threat of civil war, experts say.Full report

DAMASCUS, 9 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - Democracy activists condemned the violent break up of a peaceful demonstration against the country's emergency laws by a crowd of several hundred pro-government students on Thursday.Full report

DUBAI, 9 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - CONTENTS: EGYPT: Migrant workers face abuse EGYPT: Activists condemn...Full report

LEBANON: Year in Review 2005 - Developments in democracy

LEBANON: Year in Brief 2005 – A chronology of democratic developments

SYRIA: Domestic opposition gaining strength, but still facing pressures

EGYPT: Islamists appeal for release of prisoners

EGYPT: Interview with Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Essam al-Arian

IRAQ-MIDDLE EAST: Street children face hunger and abuse

IRAQ: Optimism high as preparations for national elections continue

IRAQ: Briefing paper on food security

IRAQ: Briefing paper on power

IRAQ: Briefing paper on water and sanitation

IRAQ: Briefing paper on Education

IRAQ: Briefing paper on health